Christmas is a season of overindulgence. For most of us, that means an extra mince pie, a second helping of turkey, or perhaps a third glass of mulled wine. But for some among us, the festive season is a time to settle old scores, dispatch new enemies and indulge ... in murder. Here, ten masters of the genre serve up mystery and mayhem aplenty. From a dowager's missing diamonds to a Christmas party gone horribly wrong, these classic crime stories will delight, puzzle and satisfy long after the last slice of pudding has been consumed. Views: 557
A raw and heart-wrenching literary memoir about a queer couple's attempt to adopt a child.But would you take a ginger child? A social worker asks Patrick Flanery as he and his husband embark on their four-year odyssey of trying to adopt. This curious question comes to haunt the journey, which Flanery recounts with startling candour as he explores what it means to make a family as a queer couple, to be an outsider in a foreign country, to grapple with the inheritance of intergenerational loss, and to discover that the emotions we feel are sometimes as mysterious to ourselves as to others.Reviews For The Ginger Child:'It is shocking, and consoling, in its honesty.' - Emma Brockes'this is a book to be savoured' - Jackie Kay'A rare, brilliant and essential exploration of adoption'- John D'AgataThis uniquely powerful book moves deftly between heartbreaking memoir and... Views: 557
A young interracial couple escapes from Maryland to France in 1894, living first among artists in the vibrant Latin Quarter of Paris, and then beginning a new life as winemakers in the rugged countryside of the LanguedocTwenty-three years after the publication of his acclaimed novel Mason's Retreat and six years after The Right-Hand Shore, Christopher Tilghman returns to the saga of the Mason family in Thomas and Beal.Thomas Mason and his wife, Beal, have run away to France, escaping the disapproval of both their families. The drama in this richly textured novel proceeds in two settings: first in Paris, and then in the Languedoc, where Thomas and Beal begin a new life as winemakers. Beal, indelible, beautiful, and poised, enchants everyone she meets in this strange new land, including a gaggle of artists in the Latin Quarter when they first arrive in Paris. Later, when they've moved to the beautiful and rugged Languedoc, she is torn... Views: 557
The rake has a proposition...Will she accept?Part of The Sinful Sinclairs: When globe-trotting Charles Sinclair arrives at Huxley Manor to sort out his late cousin's affairs, he meets practical Eleanor Walsh. He can't shake the feeling that behind her responsibility to clear her family's debt, Eleanor longs to escape her staid life. Chase can offer her an exciting adventure in Egypt... But that all depends on her response to his shocking proposal! Views: 557
Will fake boyfriends become the real deal this holiday?It's the most wonderful time of the year—except ex-Marine Logan is jobless and getting evicted. Worse, he's a new single dad with a stepson who hates him. A kid needs stability—not to mention presents under the tree—and Logan's desperate.Then he meets lonely Seth and makes a deal.Can Logan temporarily pretend to be live-in boyfriends to increase Seth's chances at a promotion? If it provides a roof over their heads for the holidays, hell yeah. Logan considers himself straight—he doesn't count occasional hookups with guys—but he can fake it. Besides, with his shy little smile, Seth is surprisingly sexy.Make that damn sexy.Shocked that Seth has only been with one man, Logan can't resist sweetening their deal to teach him the joys of casual sex. No strings attached. No feelings. No kissing.No falling for each other.Easy, right?The Christmas Deal is a steamy holiday gay romance from... Views: 557
Freshly home from her Finishing School in Florence, the beautiful young Lady Odela Ford finds to her dismay that her new stepmother, the Countess of Shalford, is scheming against her and her beloved father. Odela's mother, who she adored, has died and her father has married again rather too quickly.To her horror and mystification she overhears one day her stepmother ordering her lover, the Viscount More, to marry Odela – for her money as he has very little himself.This is the first that Odela hears of the American oil shares that her late mother left her, which have now accumulated into a vast fortune. Unwilling to tell her father that he is being betrayed by his wife, Odela seeks refuge with her old Nanny at the country house of the Marquis of Trancombe. Almost straight away there is an undeniable and irresistible attraction between her and the handsome Marquis. But no sooner has she found safety than new danger appears in the form of a... Views: 557
Dispatching a couple of mortal thieves was child's play, but he'd gladly take it... In this short story from the thrilling anthology MatchUp, bestselling authors Lara Adrian and Christopher Rice—along with their popular series characters Lucan Thorne and Lilliane—team up for the first time ever. Views: 557
